Archive for March, 2016

I had all these grand plans to draw a tattered old box in a growing forest, a forgotten piece of rubbish being reclaimed by nature as grass and fungi grew around it. As you can see that didn’t happen, but it doesn’t matter. Something happened and that’s what counts.

I drew one of our packing boxes from the move, minus the lettering on the outside, in black ink and tried to keep it sketchy with a little cross hatching and a light watercolour pencil wash over a more vibrant inktense background.

My calligraphy marker went AWOL on the watercolour paper but I wanted the words included because for me, I couldn’t decide what the box should be so I asked the question: ‘What will you be today?’ It may not look like much but it was a stark reminder of how we make things what they are through the power of our minds. The humble box can become, for a short while, anything that our imagination wants it to be and that is what creativity is all about.

I was moving house last week and didn’t have a chance to post the week 12 prompt. Truth be told I forgot, so this week is a double whammy; last week’s prompt and this week’s in one post. Enjoy!

Week 12: Cardboard box

Granted, it’s an odd one this week but in light of my move and the fact I am living surrounded by boxes as I settle in and unpack I thought this would be an interesting one.
It is such a mundane and plain item but one that children and animals alike find so much creative inspiration from.

This week’s challenge is to create an image that includes a cardboard box in it in some way. What, if anything that box becomes in your image is up to you.

Week 13: Pop Art

I’m not sure why but of all the different ‘genres’ and styles of art I feel that Pop Art often gets lets recognition than it deserves. Perhaps it is because of it’s bright colours and seeming simplicity but it is a style in which there is a lot of fun to be had. I thought it would be interesting to look at some different types of art and try bringing them into my own practice through the art challenge. If you are not familiar with the style then do take a moment to look it up online and get a feel for it.

It wasn’t as bad as I had feared. I used watercolour to do a quick painting of a tropical fish for the prompt, keeping it fast and the paper very wet.
I tried to be expressive, allowing the paint to do most of the work and just adding in a few more prominent marks here and there at the end.

It occurred to me, while freezing my arse off in the cold wind and drawing a shell for last week’s art challenge prompt, that I have never drawn a fish outside of a little doodle or cartoon style when I was a child. I’m not sure why that is, thinking about it makes me nervous actually and that usually means I should at least give it a go once.

And so, even though I know I will probably regret it, this week’s challenge is to create an image of/with/inspired by fish.

A trip to the beach with the little lady, coffee in the wind and a search for shells ended in this drawing using my travel kit of inktense pencils and a water-brush pen to create a loose, colourful speed drawing.

One thing I’ve always enjoyed about visiting the beach and later living in a seaside town is the chance to go scavenging for empty shells of different shapes, sizes and colours. There is something about them, their markings and patterns that I have always enjoyed.

This week’s challenge is to create an image of, including or inspired by a shell of any type.

I cheated a little with this one, mainly because I have fallen behind and really wanted to get something done for it today so I created a window out of a page that allows you to look through to the surrounding pages.

It may not look like much now but it will make things interesting with the week 10 prompt and I’m excited to see how it relates to it and what the resulting effect is.